"Have you heard anything else?"

"No. But Kevin's in town."

She smiled. "Good. I'm going to make you coffee and breakfast and we're going to hang out here this afternoon together and watch the coverage on TV. And we're going to deal with whatever happens...together."

She leaned in and brushed her mouth over his, then rose off the bed. He stared after her, admiring the curves of her a.s.s in those tight jeans even as he tried to make sense of why she was here. He heard the TV in the living room come on, then noises from the kitchen.

He gave his head a shake, threw back the covers, and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He strode to the bathroom, where he splashed his face with cold water, cleaned his teeth, and ran a brush through his hair. Then he grabbed a pair of sweatpants draped over a chair and stepped into them.

He found Katelyn in the kitchen, whisking something in a bowl. Shopping bags and food covered the island. A cup of coffee brewed in the Keurig.

"Watching trade deadline coverage on TV is boring as h.e.l.l," he said.

She looked up at him and paused her whisking. Her lips parted as her gaze tracked down over his chest and abs appreciatively, lingering where his sweats hung low on his hips. His lips twitched.

Then she smiled. "Whatever."

"What are you making?"

"Omelets. I got ham and some of that amazing mozzarella cheese. Crusty bread. Can you put a couple of slices in the toaster?" She nodded at the loaf on the counter.

He did as she asked and switched out the coffee cup in the Keurig to make one for himself.

"I'm confused," he said. "I didn't expect this."

She smiled at him and poured eggs into a skillet she'd found. "I know. Because you don't believe that people will stick around. But I'm going to prove you wrong. I'm going to be the one, Tanner. The one who sticks with you no matter what. Like you deserve."

He gazed at her, his chest filled with a burning, fizzing sensation. His throat worked and he opened his mouth to say something...except he didn't know what. "Katelyn," he finally croaked. He opened his arms.

She shoved the pan off the hot element and flew into his arms. He wrapped them around her, crushing her, lifting her up against him, and their mouths crashed together in a long, hard kiss.

She threw her arms around his neck and held on. Something hot and huge swelled up inside him, thickening his throat. Relief. Grat.i.tude. Pride. Love.

He kissed her again and again-hot, urgent kisses to her mouth, her cheeks, her eyelids. "Katelyn. Katelyn. G.o.d, I thought I'd lost you. Again. Forever. I was so f.u.c.king stupid."

"Yes," she agreed between kisses, and he smiled against her lips. "But I forgive you. I understand, Tanner." She ran her hands through his short, thick hair. "I know how you felt when you were a kid. Every time your parents went through another divorce."

His body tightened and his arms flexed around her. Emotion vibrated through his body.

"You'd have a new step-mother or step-father. You'd think you had a new family. Then they'd leave. I know how scary it is for you to care about people." She drew away, her fingers curved around the back of his neck, soft and delicate but strong. "But you do care about people. You care about your teammates, even though you know they or you could be traded at the click of a ballpoint pen."

His lips lifted into a smile, but he kept his gaze focused steadily on her.

"You care about your teammates enough to fight for them even if you don't like them. You care about Jaivon. You watch TV shows about dogs finding forever homes. I know you want that, Tanner. I know you want love and a home and a family, even though you deny it." She paused, and her insides quivered. "You care about me."

"I do," he said hoa.r.s.ely, his eyes bright. "I do, Katelyn. I love you."

"I love you too."

Their mouths met again, this time gentler, a kiss full of longing and love.

"I'm not going to let you down like I did last time," she whispered. He bent to touch his forehead to hers. "Like everyone else always did. I love you and I'm going to be with you no matter what."

"What if-"

"We'll figure things out."

"Christ."

"I'd leave Chicago for you, Tanner." She cupped his face in her hands and held his gaze steadily. "I'd give up my business and start over somewhere else. Last time I chose my dad. I had to. This time I choose you."

His heart leaped into his throat, d.a.m.n near choking him. "You're an amazing woman, Katie. So G.o.dd.a.m.n strong, you leave me in awe. You never let s.h.i.t get you down. You just keep going." His eyes closed and he hugged her tight again. "G.o.d, I love you. I don't deserve you."

"We deserve each other. We always have."

"All those years wasted."

"Not wasted. Never wasted. We grew up. We learned more about ourselves. What's really important to us. And here we are now, in the time and place where we're supposed to be."

He groaned, and they stood holding each other for long moments.

The words of the TV announcers eventually sank in, talking about Hughie's trade, and Tanner and Katelyn parted to stare at the TV. She turned back to him. "Was it hard losing Hugh?"

"It sucks." He released her but kept his hands on her hips. "But it's happened before and it will happen again. I shouldn't have let the trade talks get to me so much. I definitely shouldn't have let it come between us. f.u.c.k." He squeezed her again. "I'm so f.u.c.king lucky to have you."

"Yes. You are."

They both laughed.

"Make me breakfast, woman."

She snorted but it turned into a chuckle.

"Then we can watch the rest of this trade bulls.h.i.t in bed."

She tilted her head and moved back to the stove. "That's a brilliant idea."

They listened to the TV as they ate eggs and toast and the cut-up fruit Katelyn had bought. Then, ignoring the dishes, he took her hand and led her to his bedroom.

"The trade talk can wait," he muttered, setting the remote for the TV near the bed, still holding her hand. "This is more important."

He backed up toward the bed, sitting cross-legged, bringing her onto his lap so she straddled his hips. He set his hands on her waist and met her eyes. "I love you."

Her smile was slow and lovely.

He slid a hand up her back and into her silky hair to bring her mouth to his for a kiss. He poured it all into that kiss, everything he felt, all his admiration and grat.i.tude and love for her. Her hands moved over his chest, his shoulders, the back of his neck as their mouths joined in slow, clinging kisses of worship and promise.

He caressed her neck, his thumb sliding up in front of her ear, brushing the corner of her mouth, and she turned her head to suck his thumb. Heat darted straight to his groin, his d.i.c.k getting harder and thicker. Smiling, he nudged her mouth back to his again, opening her to him, licking inside to find her tongue, so warm and sweet. Then he slid both hands into her hair to hold her head as they devoured each other.

Sensation burned and twisted through him, his heart hammering against his ribs. His hands moved over her body, everywhere he could reach-her back, her waist, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He slowly unwrapped her soft sweater and parted it to see her. He sucked in a breath at the s.e.xy lingerie beneath, purple lace and satin so low cut it barely contained the swells of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. "Gorgeous," he rasped. "Look at you, gorgeous girl."

He pushed the sweater off her shoulders, letting his hands linger on the soft skin of her shoulders and arms. He leaned down to kiss her collarbone, then the soft upper curve of one breast. Her breathing hitched and her nipples puckered.

"Beautiful. So perfect." He eased her farther back so he could bend and kiss her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He tugged the lace cup down and closed his lips over one tender tip.

She clutched his shoulders and gasped. "Tanner. That's so good."

"Yeah," he mumbled against her soft flesh. "So good. You taste sweet, Katie." He tugged the hard little nub into his mouth once more, then lifted his head and met her eyes again in a long, wordless look of love. They smiled.

He tipped her lower until her back met the mattress, and moved over her. He unb.u.t.toned her jeans, drew down the zipper, and then peeled the tight fabric down her legs, leaving her in her purple bra and lace thong. "Matching," he murmured, remembering the crazy conversation Sat.u.r.day night at the Red Boot.

"Um, yeah."

"I love it," he said with heartfelt appreciation, though it was more about her than her underwear.

He nuzzled her throat, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, sucked on her nipples, loving how they fit on his tongue and how they tasted. Her soft whimpers of pleasure filled his ears, and he slid a hand beneath her to find the fastening of her bra and flick it open. "This is pretty, babe, but I want you bare."

She bit her lip, gazing up at him with big, glowing eyes as he pulled the s.e.xy lace garment away and tossed it aside. Then he got rid of her panties too. He admired her flat stomach, slender hips, and smooth thighs. "There we go. All naked and gorgeous for me to touch. For me to taste." He kissed her lower belly.

He stretched out beside her on the bed, licking her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, caressing the soft curves, and slid a hand down to her p.u.s.s.y. He cupped her gently, his big hand over her pulsing softness, and her breathing hitched. Her thighs parted for him and he rubbed his fingers up and down over her soft flesh, then slid them deeper into her folds, finding heat and wet, dipping his fingers into her sweet juices.

"Oh yeah," he murmured in awe. "So wet, Katie. Love that."

She made a soft needy little sound, reaching out to touch his chest.

He leaned over to kiss her mouth as he fondled her p.u.s.s.y, sliding one arm beneath her. Her thighs fell open wider as he played there, her back arching, her mouth clinging softly to his in long, hungry kisses. Electricity sizzled over his nerve endings, tension zapping up his spine. His b.a.l.l.s ached and his c.o.c.k swelled with greedy desire.

He caressed her stomach, her hip, back between her legs. He sc.r.a.ped his fingernails over the sensitive skin of her inner thighs and her entire body jolted. He smiled against her lower belly, licked her there, then pushed her thighs apart and moved between them, licking over her p.u.s.s.y with long, slow drags of his tongue.

"Oh my G.o.d, Tanner." She flung her arms wide. "Oh my G.o.d."

"Gonna taste you here now, sweet girl."

He dragged his tongue over her hip bone, found her knee with one hand, and pushed it up and back. His other arm slipped beneath her hip to hug her other thigh. He licked all over her p.u.s.s.y, slow surface strokes of his tongue that made her quiver, then he touched his tongue to her c.l.i.t and her hips jerked and lifted against him.

"Yeah, babe." He used one thumb to open her a little more to his tongue. "You taste so G.o.dd.a.m.n good."

He rose up to shove his sweatpants down his thighs, then kicked them off. He reached for a condom and quickly suited up, then moved back between her thighs, easing her legs wider for him. He grasped his stiff d.i.c.k and slicked it up and down through her slit, rubbing over her swollen c.l.i.t. His b.a.l.l.s tightened even more at the root of his c.o.c.k, his veins flooding with burning pleasure.

She sucked in a sharp breath and opened her eyes. Their gazes locked as he continued to stroke her.

"Katelyn."

Her lips curved into a slow, s.e.xy smile, her eyes hazy with l.u.s.t and love, and she reached for him, grazing her fingertips over his chest and abs, all the way to his pubic hair and the root of his c.o.c.k. His muscles twitched beneath his hot, tight skin.

He found her entrance and pushed inside, all the while holding her gaze. They stared into each other's eyes in the kind of intimate connection he'd only ever experienced with one woman. This woman.

She lifted her head to watch them join, her body closing around him so d.a.m.n hot and tight. He f.u.c.king loved that. He eased deeper inside her body and reached for one of her hands. Lacing their fingers together, he began to move inside her.

Eyes still joined, he f.u.c.ked her hard, deep, joining them in almost unbearable intimacy. She curled her fingers around his and held on tight as the bed shuddered with his every thrust, her lips parted, eyes heavy-lidded.

She was strength and beauty, resilience and loyalty. She was home. She was everything he'd ever wanted and never thought he'd have.

Her eyes widened as her o.r.g.a.s.m built, then closed as it slammed into her, her p.u.s.s.y squeezing him. And that was enough for him-he couldn't stop the force of it as his own release detonated, and he collapsed on her, burying his face in her neck as wave after wave of hot pleasure rolled over him, pulsing inside him.

"Love you, Katie," he gasped into the soft skin of her neck.

"I love you too, Tanner." Her arms wrapped around him, her mouth opened on his shoulder in a long kiss. "G.o.d, I love you too."

- Tanner's cellphone rang.

They'd been half dozing in each other's arms, half watching the TV.

The ringtone had them both alert. They froze and turned to look at each other.

It rang again.

"Answer it," she whispered. "You have to answer it."

He reached for the phone and studied the call display. He closed his eyes and swiped the screen. "Hey, Kevin."

"How's it going, kid?"

Tanner nearly laughed. I'm in bed with a beautiful, s.e.xy woman who wants to spend the rest of her life with me no matter what happens. Go ahead. Lay it on me.

He couldn't say that. So he answered, "Good."

"Listen, I just talked to Yarish. They want to meet tomorrow."

Tanner sucked air into his lungs and met Katelyn's eyes. "That's good. Right?"

"You're not being traded. I think they're done trading, with that deal for Land. Now they're ready to talk numbers."

"Great."

"Let's hope. I'll keep you posted."

"Thanks." He ended the call. "Well, looks like I'm not being traded. And Kevin's meeting with Ian tomorrow."

"That's good!"

"Yeah. Any progress is good. Let's just hope they're willing to make some kind of offer and that it's decent."

"You trust Kevin to get the best deal for you."

"I do."

"Then let him do his job."